The majority of our work is now with Primary children, but it was through working in secondary schools that we discovered P4C!
Below are links to 3 of our favourite easy wins for KS4-5 pupils. All three deal with juicy (and sometimes bloodthirsty!) concepts hat won't leave students feeling patronised. In our view, they are the 'easiest wins' out there.
Below that are some of our Philosophy Circles Session Plans, originally from our KS3 page but equally suitable for KS4-5.
Easy Wins for KS4-5
Oedipus
If you can’t provoke a reaction with arguably the greatest story ever told, involving incest, child abandonment and road rage parricide, you may as well follow the example of the sphinx and jump off a cliff... Download the written story and enquiry plan here. For a PowerPoint version of the story, click here.
What do you know most certainly?
This activity offers a whistle stop tour of a whole range of problems drawn from traditional academic philosophy: the sorts of questions that make you gleefully giddy as the certainty you thought you had appears to crumble beneath you. Download here.
Santa and the Whiteness of Lies
Can the intention behind a lie change it into something good? Or is it who benefits from a lie that determines its moral status? Download here.
Curriculum-Based Session Plans
Each of our session plans follow the Philosophy Circles method: Get Moving, reach a Y-Question, and Take a Back Seat.
The plans below come from our Philosophy Circles Premium Resource Pack - where you'll find over 150 plans for every subject in the curriculum.
Geography
The Cowman and the Farmer
An enquiry that asks questions about land, rights and ownership. Fantastic as a philosophical bridge between Physical and Human Geography.
Mathematics
Tulips from Amsterdam
The Tulip craze from 1634 isn't just a wonderfully simple example of how markets work. but it also raises philosophical questions about value.
Science
When do you stop being a child?
An excellent resource to explore the concepts of childhood/adulthood beyond the syllabus!
Modern Foreign Languages
How to embed P4C in languages
Elements of P4C could be used to ensure that pupils are prepared for their exams, and can express ideas in the target language.
History
When should you follow orders?
Members of the Armed Forces have always had to follow orders. But are there any exceptions? Set in WWII, this stimulus gives pupils two perspectives on a true story.
PSHE
"The Us"
This stimulus is an adaptation of John Rawls’ thought experiment, “The Veil of Ignorance”. Would it create a fair society?